Embodiments of the present method and system relate generally to electronic data collection and display in a healthcare setting. Particularly, certain embodiments relate to providing automated, custom displays of images and tools for manipulating the images.
Healthcare facilities often employ certain types of digital diagnostic imaging modalities, such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound imaging, and X-ray imaging. As part of the therapeutic or diagnostic process, healthcare workers spend a considerable amount of time evaluating and interpreting images, as well as preparing clinical reports. The clinical reports often contain direct references to images as well as data gathered from the images.
To facilitate the evaluation and interpretation of images, computer-based systems have been developed to present the data to a user, typically a radiologist but possibly any of a number of other users in a healthcare setting. As with most computer-based systems, the user interacts with the system via input devices such as a mouse and/or a keyboard. Users who spend considerable time with such devices may develop conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome, common to computer-intensive workplaces. This is in part due to the reliance on input devices such as a mouse and/or a keyboard to perform what are often repetitive tasks.
Moreover, some of the analysis performed on images by users is predictable. Past images and past clinical reports related to a given patient may contain information that is helpful in determining what part or parts of a current image may be of interest to a user. In this way, certain parts of image analysis may be amenable to automation. A reliable way of automating image analysis based on past clinical data and past images could enable users to interpret and evaluate images more efficiently.
Thus, there is a need for a system and method to reduce the reliance on user input devices to perform the repetitive evaluation and analysis of images. There is a further need for a means of automating the predictable aspects of image interpretation and analysis.